International First-Year Students
An international student is a person who requires an F-1 visa to study in the United States. All international students will complete either a first-year or transfer application. There is no separate international application.
- First-year students or freshmen are those still in high school or have completed high school but have not attended college after high school.
- Transfer students are anyone who, after high school graduation, has enrolled in university-level courses either in the US or another country.
When completing the application, your citizenship as well as your intended visa (and if applicable current visa) will identify you as an international student.
International students are students who:
- Wish to study in the US under a student (F-1) visa. Those with valid B-1 or B-2 visas must change their status to F-1, or:
- Currently hold an F-1, F-2, J-1, or J-2 visa.
Connect with International Students and Admissions Team
Step 1
Apply Online
We offer two application options (apply using just one). There is a $50 application fee.
Apply: Common App Apply: SUNY App
Essay
An essay on the topic of your choice is required and can be submitted with your application or uploaded to your StartSBU Portal.
Note:
An appropriate use of an AI tool is to help you explore admission essay ideas or to refine your admission essay based on the topic selected; however, it is important that the final work be yours. AI tools should be used as a resource, similar to resources you may use at your school, e.g. a counselor or teacher. As with counselors and teachers who are not writing your essay for you, AI should not either. This guidance extends to essays written for any university admission purpose*, including essays and short answers for our University Honors Programs and Simons STEM Scholars Program.
*For applicants to our Creative Writing program, which requires a writing sample be submitted; AI generated or assisted writing samples are not acceptable for consideration. The foundation of the review of the writing sample is to gauge how potential students write. Writing samples are assessed by Creative Writing staff for originality and if any concerns are present the sample is submitted for review to an AI detector.
Step 2
What You'll Need to Request or Submit
*Note: Applicants should be aware that it may take our office up to 5 business days to match school documents to their accounts; we encourage you not to request multiple documents be sent from your school counselor/administrator.
For Early Action applicants, all application documents should be received by November 1.
For Regular Decision applicants, all application documents should be received by January 15.
High School Transcript(s)
Grades for the three most recently completed years of secondary school must be submitted in English for an application to be reviewed. This may include academic results from both middle school and high school. If you have already graduated, please submit grades from the last four years of school. All transcripts must be sent directly from your school. Your counselor may upload official transcripts electronically through your application system or email them to ugprocessing@stonybrook.edu.
Standardized Test Scores (optional)
Official scores from the SAT, ACT or both must be sent directly from the testing agency. SAT Code: 2548, ACT Code: 2952.
*Stony Brook is test optional for applicants. Admission to Stony Brook is based on a holistic review of a student’s academic record including the overall grade point average and strength of curriculum, as well as other academic and personal factors such as co-curricular and community involvement, evidence of leadership, special talents or interest.
English Proficiency/Test Scores
Submit your English Proficiency via an official score report* for the TOEFL, Duolingo, SAT, ACT, IELTS, AP, IB, A levels or PTE Academic.
SAT and TOEFL Code: 2548, ACT Code: 2952
*Stony Brook is test optional for applicants. International students are still expected to submit proof of English Proficiency by way of one of the exams below. Applicants from native English-speaking countries are exempt from submitting English proficiency test scores, as are international applicants who attend an English-medium school.
Students who do not meet English Proficiency requirements may be considered for conditional admission.
For those who do not meet the criteria above, one of the following exams is required:
| Exam | Minimum Score |
|---|---|
| TOEFL (Internet-based): Exams taken prior to 1/21/2026 | 80 |
| TOEFL (Internet-based): Exams taken after 1/21/2026 | 4 |
| IELTS | 6.5 |
| Duolingo | 105 |
| ACT English | 19 |
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (New Exam) | 480 |
| IB English Higher Level | 5 |
| AP English Language/Comp or Literature/Com exam | 3 |
| A-level (Advanced) English | C |
| PTE Academic | 53 |
| GaoKao | 125 (out of 150) |
| CSAT | Rank 1 |
Letter of Recommendation
One letter of recommendation is required from a teacher or counselor. The recommender can email us the document to ugprocessing@stonybrook.edu. Send two teacher recommendation letters if you are applying for any of our honors programs. If you are applying to WISE, at least one letter should be from a science or math teacher.
Step 2A): Applicants for Honors Programs
Honors College, WISE, University Scholars, Scholars for Medicine, and Scholars for Dental Medicine
Honors Programs consider applicants for fall semester only.
Learn more about the honors programs and their criteria.
Deadline for Honors Consideration
The priority deadline to apply for Honors College, WISE, and University Scholars for Fall 2027 is November 1.
The final deadline for Scholars for Medicine, Scholars for Dental Medicine, Honors College, WISE, and University Scholars is January 15.
Honors Program Application(s)
You may indicate your initial interest for honors programs in your general admission application through either the SUNY or Common Applications. This is not the actual application, but will let our office know you are interested in these programs.
To submit applications and necessary materials for honors programs, please follow these steps:
- Apply to Stony Brook University for general admission through the SUNY or Common App (and any other applicable steps per your program selections).
- After submission of your general admission application, you will receive access to the StartSBU Portal. To apply for any honors programs under University Scholars, Honors College, WISE, or Scholars for Medicine/Dental Medicine, you must then fill out the Honors Program Interest Form for consideration (you can select more than one program to apply to, but you MUST indicate a preference for one program above the rest).
- Necessary materials are both listed in and can be uploaded through the StartSBU Portal, but are also detailed below.
Note:
If applying for early action consideration, you must also submit all necessary honors program application materials by the Early Action deadline of November 1.
If you are applying under regular decision consideration, you must submit your honors program (WISE, University Scholars, Honors College, Scholars for Medicine or Dental Medicine) application and materials by January 15, otherwise your applications will be considered on a space-available basis.
Essay/Statement Requirements:
Honors, WISE, and University Scholars:
- Upload to your StartSBU Portal one brief statement: Please discuss why you are a good fit for your preferred University Honors Program (Honors College, University Scholars, or WISE). Applicants should keep their statement to approximately 250 words. This honors statement is a required document for Honors Program consideration, but please note if applying to more than one program, only one statement for your preferred program is required (this does not apply to the Simons STEM application process).
- Two total Letters of Recommendation are required, no matter which of the University Honors Programs (Honors College,
University Scholars, or WISE) you are applying to. These recommendations must be sent only by the person who wrote the letter, such as a teacher or school counselor. The letters can be attached to your application
or emailed from the recommender to ugprocessing@stonybrook.edu.
- WISE Applicants: At least one of the recommendations or evaluations should be from a science or math teacher
Scholars for Medicine & Scholars for Dental Medicine:
- Applicants to these programs also must apply to one of the University Honors Programs (Honors College, University Scholars, or WISE), thus following the application directions for that corresponding Honors Program.
- Additional Scholars for Medicine/Dental Medicine essay required, up to 650 words, on "What aspects about medicine/dental medicine intrigue you? Describe how these aspects influence your life."
- SAT or ACT scores are REQUIRED for Scholars for Medicine and Scholars for Dental Medicine consideration. If you are applying for Early Action consideration, please note that test scores can take up to two weeks for arrival from either College Board or ACT and should factor in this delivery time in accordance with the completion deadline of November 1. Likewise for those taking the SAT or ACT in October, as they must ensure they list our school code for timely delivery of scores. Official scores from the SAT, ACT or both must be sent directly from the testing agency. SAT Code: 2548, ACT Code: 2952.
Step 3
Restricted Majors
Applicants who do not specify a major on their application are considered for admission to the University rather than to a particular major. Admission to Stony Brook University does not guarantee acceptance into the following restricted majors, which have additional admission requirements.
Successful applicants in these majors will, in addition to our general admission criteria, be required to have:
- 4 units of math including Calculus for most CEAS majors
- 4 units of science including Physics for most CEAS majors
Strong applicants typically have earned outstanding grades in high school calculus and physics, and performed exceptionally well on the Math section of the SAT and/or ACT. Stony Brook is test optional for applicants (unless applying to the Scholars for Medicine or Scholars for Dental Program). Consideration is given to students who have performed well in advanced science and math courses, as well as those who have participated in science, math, and research competitions.
- Applied Mathematics and Statistics
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemical and Molecular Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Computer Science
- Data Science
- Electrical Engineering
- Engineering Science
- Information Systems
- Mechanical Engineering
- Technological Systems Management
Accounting
Successful applicants will, in addition to our general admission criteria, typically display evidence of achievement in mathematics and writing, and will have performed particularly well on both the Math and Critical Reading sections of the SAT and/or ACT. Stony Brook is test optional for applicants (unless applying to the Scholars for Medicine or Scholars for Dental Program).
Business Management
Successful applicants will, in addition to our general admission criteria, typically display evidence of achievement in mathematics and writing, and will have performed particularly well on both the Math and Critical Reading sections of the SAT and/or ACT. Stony Brook is test optional for applicants (unless applying to the Scholars for Medicine or Scholars for Dental Program).
Creative Writing
Admission to the BFA in Creative Writing requires a statement of purpose and writing sample submitted in the application StartSBU Portal. A letter of recommendation from someone who has read your creative writing samples is optional or can be used as your required one letter with your SBU application.
An appropriate use of an AI tool is to help you explore admission essay ideas or to refine your admission essay based on the topic selected; however, it is important that the final work be yours. AI tools should be used as a resource, similar to resources you may use at your school, e.g. a counselor or teacher. As with counselors and teachers who are not writing your essay for you, AI should not either. This guidance extends to essays written for any university admission purpose*, including essays and short answers for our University Honors Programs and Simons STEM Scholars Program.
*For applicants to our Creative Writing program, which requires a writing sample be submitted; AI generated or assisted writing samples are not acceptable for consideration. The foundation of the review of the writing sample is to gauge how potential students write. Writing samples are assessed by Creative Writing staff for originality and if any concerns are present the sample is submitted for review to an AI detector.
Music
In addition to the application to the University, a separate Music Major Application is required. Students who perform successfully in the audition and their theory placement and musicianship exams will be admitted to the music major upon admission to the University. In addition, students participating in this audition process may be considered for scholarship offers and the opportunity to study with Performance Faculty. Interested students should be in touch with the Undergraduate Studies Director, Deborah Heckert (deborah.heckert@stonybrook.edu).
These health sciences majors are upper-division and require completion of at least 57 college credits and specific courses/grade prerequisites. These majors include:
- Nursing
- Social Work
Those interested in these upper-division majors may apply for admission as a first-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences, in a major of their choice where they can enroll in the course prerequisites. An application to the upper-division program will need to be submitted the year in which you anticipate completing all prerequisites.
View Special Application Procedures for Health Sciences Majors
Social Work
Social Work is an upper-division major at Stony Brook University, requiring at least 57 credits and specific prerequisites. First-year applicants are considered for admission to the College of Arts and Sciences, where students are offered the opportunity to complete prerequisite courses prior to applying to the Social Work major.
Step 4
Check Your Application Status and Monitor Decision Timeline
Within two weeks of submitting your application to Stony Brook through the Common App or SUNY Application, we will send you login information to access your StartSBU Portal.
You'll be able to:
- Monitor your status and view your decision
- Apply for honors or restricted programs through supplemental applications provided
- Upload supplemental documents as necessary (including essays for honors programs and other various documents)
- Confirm receipt of items
Decision Timeline
1. General admission decision.
- Students are notified of their general admission decision first (see below for honors decision timelines).
- Admission Decision Notification Schedule
- Early Action Applicant: End of January
- Regular Decision Applicant: End of March
- Decision Release schedule:
- March 20
- March 27
- Your honors program consideration does not affect your admission decision. See the below for honors programs decision release information.
2. Admitted students are then considered for their honors program(s) of interest. Therefore, students will only receive a decision regarding honors applications after being admitted.
- Honors College, WISE, University Scholars will typically start to notify qualified applicants of their decision in mid to late March.
- Scholars for Medicine and Scholars for Dental Medicine will contact qualified applicants directly with a request for an interview and then be notified of their Scholars for Medicine or Scholars for Dental Medicine decision in April.
It is each applicant's responsibility to ensure that all credentials are received. Space in our class is limited.
For Admitted Students Only
International students, if admitted, must document their ability to meet educational and living expenses for one year of study so that Stony Brook University can issue a Certificate of Visa Eligibility (I-20). Admitted students will receive login instructions for accessVIS, Stony Brook's portal for visa and immigration services, for Fall after March 1 and for Spring after October 1. For information on requesting your I-20 (after admission), documents needed, and details on estimated expenses for your I-20, visit the VIS webpage. Only admitted and deposited students who complete their I-20 request through the accessVIS portal will receive an I-20. Financial documentation is not needed for an admission decision.
Additional Information
Freshman applicants admitted to the University but not initially accepted into their major of choice may apply for admission into the major after satisfying the requirements as outlined in the Undergraduate Catalog description of the major.
Related Links
State University of New York (SUNY) policy prohibits Stony Brook University admission applications from inquiring into an applicant’s prior criminal history. After acceptance, the College shall inquire if the student previously has been convicted of a felony if such individual seeks campus housing or participation in clinical or field experiences, internships (where a criminal history background check is required) or study abroad programs. The information required to be disclosed under SUNY policy regarding such felony convictions shall be reviewed by a standing campus committee consistent with the legal standards articulated in New York State Corrections Law, and other applicable law.
Students who have previously been convicted of a felony are advised that their prior criminal history may impede their ability to complete the requirements of certain academic programs and/or to meet licensure requirements for certain professions. Students who have concerns about such matters are advised to contact the dean's office of their intended academic program.